


Wake Up Call

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Admitting the Truth, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clone fight, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Realising what's always been there, S8 is a dream in the Zenith, Sheith endgame, The clone is a creation from the Zenith, dream reality, shiro central
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: Shiro finds himself in a strange world where everything is the same but something is wrong. Nothing adds up and he feels like he shouldn't be there. Upon finding his way out he has promsies himself to admit to himself, and Keith, what has always been there.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Curtis/Shiro (Voltron) - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Wake Up Call

Shiro opened his eyes and found himself stood in a strange room in a white tuxedo. For a moment he had no idea where he was or what he was doing there. A knock on the door to the room interrupted his thoughts and he forgot about his concerns.

“Come in.” He called out.

The door opened and Matt entered the room, “Hey man, you ready?”

Shiro nodded. Matt nodded back and the two left the room. He followed Matt and briefly wondered where they were going. He shook his head and tried to bury the growing feeling that something was wrong. He followed Matt out of the building and to where the event was set up. He felt a bit of shocked when he realised that it was a wedding.

Matt walked down the aisle and took his position and he realised with a shock that it was his wedding. People stood up for him and he walked down the aisle. For a moment anticipation sat in his gut as to who his groom would be. He knew who he wanted it to be and he was excited to see who it was.

As he got closer he saw his groom and he felt terrible for being a little disappointed. He recognised him as one of his bridge crew, Curtis. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes and even he could tell it was strained. His eyes wandered the crowd and sought out Keith. His stomach dropped at how closed off Keith looked. For a moment he wondered what had happened between the two of them.

He turned back to the man he was about to marry and it seemed like the wedding itself passed by in a blink of an eye. He didn’t remember any of it. Curtis held his hand and pulled him down the aisle. He followed and tried to keep up with what exactly was happening but it all seemed to be going by so quickly.

The reception area wasn’t too far away and while he shouldn’t have been surprised, he was when Curtis slid next to him and planted a kiss on his lips. Curtis pulled away and smiled and he tried to smile back but he wasn’t sure it was convincing and didn’t come off as a grimace.

After the speeches Shiro tried to find Keith. The nagging feeling at the back of his mind that something was wrong had grown throughout the day. It had become noticeable after someone had asked who had proposed to who and Shiro found that he couldn’t answer the question. In fact it wasn’t the only thing he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember their first date, where they lived, who asked who out. In fact he couldn’t remember anything about their relationship. He felt the panic and confusion rising and wanted to talk to the one person who would listen to him.

He began to look around the reception for Keith but it seemed he was nowhere to be found. He made his way outside of the tent that was set up over the reception area to see if Keith was there. His heart dropped when he realised he wasn’t. He kicked a small rock away and watched it travel over the ground. He wandered around the area and took note of the ships and vehicles that were parked nearby. He noticed that a space was now open. It was clear that it was a new open space by the vehicles around it and he felt his disappointment grow. He knew that Keith had left.

Something told him that that was likely to be the last time he saw his best friend. He felt sick at the thought. He tried to recall when things became so strained between them that Keith would leave his best friend’s wedding reception and again he couldn’t remember. His chest hurt at the thought of Keith being a permanent loss in his life. He had no desire to live without Keith. He wanted Keith in his life. He was his best friend and the most important person in his life. He hoped that he could fix whatever it was that was broken.

“Takashi?”

He turned around at the foreign sound of his own name and saw Curtis standing behind him. Curtis smiled and walked up to him, putting an arm around his waist.

“What brought you out here?” Curtis asked.

“Just needed some air.” He answered.

“Feel good enough to go back inside?”

Shiro nodded and was pulled back into the reception but he couldn’t help but take one last look at the space that Keith’s ship had been.

* * *

Time seemed to pass by in a blink of an eye. The next thing Shiro knew it was the annual Paladin dinner. Again he tried to remember the months that had passed from his wedding and found the memories hazy. He shook it off and blamed it on the alcohol in his system and the lingering effects of his time in captivity but doubt remained.

It was the first time that he had seen or talked to Keith since his wedding and had yet to have the opportunity to speak to him alone. In fact he couldn’t help noticing that it seemed like Keith was avoiding him. Just what had happened between them?

He found his way to a balcony later that night with a glass of some Altean wine. He looked at the stars and they didn’t bring the normal calm he felt when he looked at them. Instead he felt an itch he couldn’t scratch. He wanted to be out there among them but he had no way of doing so. He had retired from the Garrison and was stuck on Earth. He had no way of leaving the planet apart from when Pidge gave him a lift to the annual dinner.

The earlier doubt and ill feeling he had came back now he had time to breathe. Something was telling him that something was wrong but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He thought about his life and couldn’t think of anything that would be making him feel this way. He looked down at the ring on his hand and it felt heavy, almost like it shouldn’t be there. He thought about his life and was confused by the feeling that he had settled rather than a feeling of contentment.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll leave you in peace.”

Shiro turned around to see Keith already heading back into the building, “Wait! Keith!”

Keith stopped. His back remained towards Shiro and the older man felt like this was his chance, “So, umm, can we talk? It’s been a while since we had the chance to catch up.”

Keith sighed and his shoulders dropped. He turned around and walked up to the railing, “What do you want to know?”

Shiro looked down and shrugged, “How are you? How is the work with the Blades? How is your mum doing?”

Keith sighed, “I’m alright. Work with the Blades is good, rewarding and mum is doing well.”

Shiro sighed, “Okay.”

The two stood in silence and neither knew what to say. It felt like the cavern between them was impassable and neither knew how to begin to bridge the gap. But Shiro couldn’t help but feel a lot calmer with Keith near them even if they weren’t talking. Being beside Keith made him feel like he was where he was supposed to be. Keith shifted uncomfortably before crossing his arms and sighing. He began to turn away and Shiro felt panic. He reached out and grabbed Keith’s wrist.

“Please don’t go.” Shiro whispered. He didn’t want to raise his voice and scare Keith away.

Keith kept his head down but stayed in place, “Why should I stay?”

“I miss you. I want you in my life Keith and I want to bridge the gap between us. You’re still my best friend.”

Keith shook his head, “You seem to be doing pretty well without me.”

“Then I’m a better actor than I thought.”

Keith turned around at that, “What?”

“Life feels empty without you Keith. It’s like something major is missing in my life and I know that it’s your presence. I just want to fix whatever broke between us.”

Keith looked down again and thought about what Shiro had said. A sudden flare of anger went through him and he glared at Shiro, “I’m not some play thing that you can use and drop whenever you see fit.”

“You’re not that to me. You’ve always been important to me.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.”

Shiro opened his mouth, the words ‘ _I love you_ ’ on the tip of his tongue, when a splitting pain ripped through his head. His free hand came up to cradle his head and he leaned down and groaned as the pain seemed to grow.

Keith’s eyes widened, “Shiro? Shiro, what’s wrong?”

“My head hurts.” Shiro said through gritted teeth.

The pain slowly dissipated and he massaged his head as he stood back up. Keith stepped closer and got his wrist out of Shiro’s grip. He put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder and looked up in concern.

“What was that?” He asked.

Shiro shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“That came on very suddenly.”

“I know. I hope it doesn’t happen again.”

“Me too.”

Shiro took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and Keith hovered for a moment before taking a step back.

“Maybe we should call it a night.” Keith suggested.

Shiro shook his head, “No. I want to talk to you. We haven’t spent any time together in a long time and I don’t want to let this opportunity go.”

Keith sighed. He was mad at himself for still being unable to say no to his friend. He nodded and gestured over to a bench on the far side of the balcony. Shiro looked over and back at Keith, nodding before the two made their way over and sat down.

The two chatted and the time seemed to run away from them. It felt incredibly good to talk to Keith again as it was so easy. Despite the tension underlying everything they said the words flowed easily. There were topics they stayed away from but when he laughed he felt like it was the first time he had done so in a long time.

He looked up and noticed the scenery around them had changed. Hadn’t they been on a balcony on New Altea? When had they gotten back to Earth? How much had he had to drink?

He stood up and looked around confused. Keith stopped talking and worriedly watched his friend.

“When did we get to Earth?” Shiro asked, “Weren’t we at the annual dinner?”

“Shiro, that was a month ago.” Keith said confused.

“What? No, we were just there. We were on the balcony. I just had a headache.”

“Yeah then we sat down and talked for a bit and then went to bed.”

Shiro shook his head and began to pace. The pain from earlier returned and he squinted as the pain grew. He reached up to massage his temple and saw Keith stand up out of the corner of his eye.

“Shiro, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know but something’s wrong. The last month isn’t the first time I have no memory of time that’s passed.”

“Shiro, that’s not good. How long has this been happening?”

“Since the end of the war.”

“Shiro! You should have said something.”

Shiro shook his head and stopped pacing, “This is the first time its been noticeable enough for me to comment on it.”

“We need to get you checked out.”

Shiro nodded, “If you go with me.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Of course.”

Keith touched his shoulder and the pain in his head became blinding. He leaned down and groaned as the pain became too much. He began to feel his vision blur and he knew he was on the verge of passing out. The last thing he remembered was Keith yelling his name as black engulfed his vision.

* * *

He opened his eyes and the pain was gone. This time he was in a new location. It looked like he was inside a cloud. Everything around him was the same pastel pink colour. He stood up on shaky legs and looked around. Where was he?

“Keith!”

“Keith!”

His yells received no reply. He looked around and there seemed no path in front of him. We took a few steps forward and everything looked the same. He continued forward and it all looked the same. Nothing and no-one apart from the same pastel pink cloud enveloping everything. He called out to Keith a few more times but received no reply.

He continued walking and eventually a shape began to form in the cloud ahead of him. Unconsciously his pace quickened. He headed to the shape, hoping it was one of his friends. However as he got closer he realised that it was too large for one of his friends.

The cloud broke around the figure and he stopped when he saw it was...him.

“What?” The breathy whisper left his mouth and the figure turned around. A sinister grin was on this copy’s lips and he turned towards Shiro.

“So you made it out?”

Shiro couldn’t make out if the copy was happy or frustrated by that. He took a step back as the copy started walking towards him.

“Where are the others?” Shiro asked as his hands clenched into fists.

“You’ll have to get through me to find them.”

“If its a fight you want, its a fight you’ll get.”

Shiro then charged at the copy and every move he made was matched. He began to breathe heavily as the fight continued.

“Oh come on. Don’t tell me you’re tired. You give up on finding Keith already?” The copy taunted.

“Never.”

“Really? Seemed like you’ve already given up on him. Not like you’ve been spending a lot of time with him. In fact you seem to have completely dropped him.”

“Shut up! You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Shiro hated how the copy’s words were getting to him. He was wrong. He hadn’t given up on Keith and he never would.

“Oh really. Then why did Keith spend the last night on Earth completely alone? You told everyone to spend the night with the ones they loved and he was all alone. You decided work was more important.”

The words stunned Shiro. Surely Keith hadn’t...he couldn’t have...surely he had someone. He shook his head and charged towards the copy again.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I won’t hear any more of it!”

The fight continued. Punches and kicks flew at the other and still almost all moves were matched.

“Well, not that it matters now. It’s not like either of you, or the rest of your friends, will get out of here.”

Shiro paused and the copy used the opportunity to throw a punch that caused Shiro to fly across the floor. He quickly got up, narrowly avoiding another punch.

“What are you talking about?”

The copy laughed but said nothing. The fight continued and Shiro tried to find an opening to get the upper hand on his opponent. Eventually he found one and took the opportunity to get the upper hand. Once he had the opening it wasn’t long before he got the upper hand.

He straddled the copy and lifted his arm ready to punch when the copy gave up and laid down. He smiled up at Shiro, “Well done. You fought well.”

Shiro blinked and all of a sudden he was alone. What the hell was going on in this place?

He got up and looked around. Once again he was alone and his surroundings hadn’t changed. He thought over the copy’s words and it made him uneasy. How had he known what had happened between him and Keith? Or rather what hadn’t happened? What had he meant by he had ‘made it out’? Made it out of what?

Too many questions and no answers. He knew he had to get to Keith and then they could find their friends. He began to run as he thought of what Keith could be going through. If it was anything like he had then he wanted to get to him sooner rather than later. He ran forward, yelling Keith’s name as he went.

“Shiro!”

Shiro slowed down as he heard the faint yell. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. Who knew what else this place was capable of. He walked forward and a shape began to form in the cloud.

“Keith?!”

“Shiro!”

His pace quickened and he let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in as he broke through the clouds and saw Keith stood in front of him. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Keith. He felt Keith do the same and the two took comfort from the others presence.

“Is it really you?” Shiro asked as he tightened his arms.

Keith nodded, “Yeah it is. Are you okay?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah, or at least I will be. This place really does a number on you.” His thoughts immediately returning to the reality, or what he assumed was another reality, he had left.

“What is this place?” Keith asked, his head resting on Shiro’s shoulder as he caught his breath. Shiro guessed that he must have had some kind of fight as well.

“Allura called it the Zenith. The meeting point of all realities. She said that anything was possible here.”

“I don’t like it here.”

“Neither do I,” Shiro pulled away enough to see Keith’s face, “Let’s see if we can find the others and then find Allura.”

Keith nodded and the two took a step away from each other. Something in Shiro wanted to reach out and take Keith’s hand but he stopped himself. They weren’t like that despite how much he wanted that to change. He thought about what he had seen and how wrong it had felt. He couldn’t imagine a life without Keith and he didn’t like the idea of living any life in any reality that didn’t have Keith in it. He didn’t want to to imagine such a life. His thoughts turned to the things he had wanted to say to Keith and knew that he wanted to say those words in their reality as well. Those words were as real here as they were in the other world and he desperately wanted to say them. It was fear that stopped him. Fear that he had misunderstood Keith’s confession at the clone facility, that his heart wouldn’t be accepted, that it could ruin things between them. He was scared that the thing that had ruined things between them in the other reality was the very thing he wanted to do after the war.

He then thought about the possibility of being stuck in that world. If he hadn’t noticed the inconsistencies or the strange way time passed. The copy of himself had said that he made it out and he shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to him if he hadn’t made it out. The very thought had him reaching out for Keith’s hand. He grabbed it and stopped.

Keith felt a tug on his hand and turned around to see that Shiro had stopped. He turned around fully, “Shiro, is everything okay?”

“Keith, umm, could we talk after this? There’s something I need to talk to you about. Something important.”

Keith tilted his head in question but Shiro’s expression had him nodding and wondering what Shiro could want to talk about, “Of course. We’ll win this and then we’ll talk.”

Shiro smiled and nodded. He felt better than they would now talk but something in him wanted to tell Keith how he felt right now. He wanted to grabbed Keith and kiss him but he knew he couldn’t. They needed to find their friends and then help Allura. He gave Keith’s hand a squeeze and then dropped it.

The two continued on and it wasn’t long before they found the other Paladins. They still hadn’t found Allura and were planning on what to do when a bright light burst through the clouds and they all ran towards it, intent on helping anyway they could.

* * *

They had won.

They had actually done it.

They had defeated Honerva and saved the universe. Their only regret was that Allura had had to remain behind to fix the damage that had been done but she had promised to come back. Unfortunately there was no timeline for her return but they all knew she would be back. They would be patient until then and hoped that Allura wouldn’t be away for too long.

They were currently on New Altea celebrating. The existence of a once extinct planet had thrown them all but the Paladins couldn’t be happier for Coran and the other Alteans.

Shiro leaned on a railing and couldn’t help but think about all they had been through. The memories of the reality he had seen still haunted him. He wanted to do everything he could to avoid such a reality. He hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to Keith yet as it had all been so crazy after telling everyone that Honerva had been defeated.

“There you are.”

Shiro turned around and saw Keith behind him. He stood up and smiled. He watched as Keith closed the door and tilted his head in question. Keith shrugged.

“I figured we could have that talk you wanted.” He explained.

Shiro nodded, “Yeah.”

Both became nervous as the apprehension filled the air around them. Keith crossed his arms and looked away, “So what did you want to talk about?”

Shiro walked over to the bench and sat down. He motioned for Keith to sit next to him and felt his nerves grow as Keith made his way over. He could tell that his best friend was both nervous and curious but Shiro was grateful he didn’t push and waited for him to speak up.

Shiro took a deep breath, “I wanted to talk about what happened during the war...between us.”

“Shiro…”

Shiro held his hand up, “I want to say I’m sorry, particularly for this.” His hand moved and cupped Keith’s scarred cheek.

Keith leaned into the touch, “Shiro you really don’t need to apologise for this. It was Haggar, not you. And before you say anything she was controlling you. You had no say in anything you said or did. Do you...do you remember the fight?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah, everything.”

Keith’s hand came up and held Shiro’s hand in place, “Then you know that I will never give up on you. Beside a single scar is nothing really.”

Shiro opened his mouth to protest his words but Keith continued, “One scar, one fight and I got you back. I was willing to go through a lot worse if it meant getting you back. I meant what I said, as many times as it takes. You know I would never give up on you.”

“Keith.”

“Shiro, you’re the most important person in my life. It would be a lot different if it hadn’t been for you. I would do anything for you.”

Shiro’s gaze softened and he felt like he was falling in love with Keith all over again as Keith smiled at him, “Keith, you’re important to me too. In fact you’re the most important person in my life as well and I would never forgive myself if something had happened to you because of me.”

Keith let his hand dropped and Shiro let his thumb run over the scar a couple of times before letting it drop as well. Keith put a hand on his shoulder and held his gaze, “Shiro there was never any question that I wouldn’t have gone after you. You’ll just have to accept that you’re stuck with me. After all, who else is going to help you get out of all the trouble you seem to find yourself in?”

There was a teasing tone to Keith’s voice and Shiro laughed, “You going to be my Paladin in shining armour? Although I like the sound of you being around for a long time, and trouble finds me not the other way around.”

“Sure thing Shiro. I’ll be that if you need me to be.” Keith replied with a smile.

Shiro swallowed nervously as he reached out for Keith’s hand. Keith looked at him questioningly.

“Keith...about the clone facility, did you mean what you said?” Shiro asked shyly, nervous about the answer.

“You know I don’t say things I don’t mean.” Keith said seriously.

“So you…” Shiro let the sentence tail off, to afraid to finish it. He hoped this way Keith would clarify exactly what he had meant.

Keith swallowed and looked at Shiro in the eye, “I love you Shiro.”

“I know you do but…”

Keith rolled his eyes and leaned over, pressing his lips to Shiro’s. Shiro’s eyes went wide and before he could respond Keith pulled away.

“Does that answer your question?” Keith asked as he put both hands in his lap.

“I’m not sure. Maybe you need to do it again so I really get the message.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, “Do I now?”

Shiro shrugged, “I mean, we have to be sure we’re on the same page about this.”

Keith smirked and leaned over. Shiro leaned in as well and they met in the middle. This time Shiro responded. They gently moved their lips together. Shiro took the lead as it was evident that Keith didn’t know what he was doing so Shiro kept it simple and gentle. The kisses went on for about a minute before both pulled away. Large smiles were on their faces and they quickly leaned back in. This time Shiro wrapped his prosthetic hand around Keith’s waist and Keith’s hand came up to cup Shiro’s cheek. This kiss lasted just as long as the first before the two pulled away.

“Does that clear some things up?” Keith asked.

“Yeah I think it does.” Shiro said as he pulled Keith closer.

Keith let his hand fall to the base of Shiro’s neck and took in the sight of his best friend and the man he loved. This felt so much like a dream. He couldn’t believe he had kissed Shiro. They had actually kissed but he felt nervous. What did this all mean?

Shiro’s flesh hand returned to Keith’s cheek and ran his thumb over it. The difference between skin and scar still made him feel guilty but he felt lighter than he had before.

He smiled and his next words came easy to him, “I love you Keith.”

Keith’s eyes shined and he smiled, “I love you too, Shiro.”

Saying the words was like lifting a weight off of their shoulders. It was giving voice to something that was an obvious fact. Something known yet never acknowledged. Their love was something that had shaped the universe and even helped save it. Their love was an unspoken constant and had even defeated death.

He spared a thought for the other reality he had experienced and wondered what had led to it. He couldn’t imagine life without Keith and he didn’t want to. That reality had felt so wrong. It was like all his worst fears come true. He hated to think it but he hoped that the other version of himself was really happy. He was just glad that it wasn’t him.

Keith stood up which gained his attention, causing him to forget about the other reality. Keith held out his hand and Shiro stood up. Shiro then pulled Keith to him and wrapped his arms around him.

“Just to be clear, we’re definitely together?” Shiro asked.

Keith rolled his eyes and reached up to press his lips to Shiro’s once again. Pulling away he answered, “Yes, definitely.”

“I think I might need reminding quite frequently.” Shiro teased.

“Oh really?” Keith said, tilting his head. Shiro nodded and Keith smiled, “I think I can manage that.”

The two kissed again as Keith wrapped his arms around his neck.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two they had an audience. The door to the balcony was open a crack and four pairs of eyes were watching. The other Paladins and Coran sighed in relief. They were glad that the two Black Paladins now admitted to, what to them, was obvious.

“It’s about time.” Coran said as he moved away from the door.

“It really is.” Hunk added.

“It’s about time they admitted what the rest of us already knew.” Lance added.

The others moved away and turned to walk away to give the new couple some peace.

“God, can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t gotten their heads out of their butts and admitted they love each other?” Pidge asked as they all walked away. The group shuddered and then laughed. No-one wanted to imagine a world where that happened.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this thought of what if the Paladins never actually made it out of the Zenith. What if the Zenith had a defense system where it sent any invaders to another reality? They were all stuck in this reality where everything goes wrong (that is our S8). So what would happen when they got out? I focussed on Shiro because he was the only one whose expereinces I could think of a story for.


End file.
